Teaming Cesaro and Sheamus was one of WWE’s smartest booking decisions this year

We all groaned when their best-of-seven series was announced, but as long term booking goes, it laid the foundations for some unexpected genius – the pairing of the “Swiss Superman” and “Celtic Warrior”. Their babyface/heel dynamic is a heat magnet, with huge creative potential yet to explore (just think – when they eventually hug, the crowd will go nuts for it). Their title win against The New Day last night was a masterstroke. As Cesaro and Sheamus supposedly hate each other, their imaginative double-team offence packed an extra punch, while the finish of the match – Cesaro faking a tag so Sheamus could score a surprise pinfall on Kofi – was inspired. Overall, it’s confirmation of what we’ve known for weeks: Cesaro and Sheamus have taken over as Raw’s hottest tag team.

Anyone can throw the towel in

During Sami Zayn’s 10-minute challenge against Braun Strowman, Mick Foley appeared at ringside towel-in-hand. Foley, though not appointed as manager or corner representative of Zayn, is somehow permitted to submit on Zayn’s behalf (it brought back memories of Helen Hart throwing in the towel for her son Bret at Survivor Series 1994, because apparently the WWE rulebook says all mums have towel-throwing rights). Mick’s involvement last night was weak – a nonsense distraction to help Sami score a cheap, meaningless win. We could forgive this if meant the end of this pointless feud, but it won’t.

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'forgiving world'

Newcastle star Neville returned to terrorise the cruiserweight division

Neville just made the Cruiserweight division interesting

The triple threat between Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann, Brian Kendrick, and TJ Perkins was another underwhelming effort for the division, saddled by overlong submission spots and WWE’s usual poor triple treat psychology (has anyone satisfyingly explained why triple threats are no disqualification?). Swann retained the belt after hitting Perkins with a superkick, but it was Neville’s surprise appearance post-match that cranked things up a notch, as the Geordie superstar tuned heel on Swann with a vicious beatdown. It’s exactly what the division needs to get over – believable intensity, and a name talent who’s already got a connection with the fans. It’s also a golden opportunity for Neville, who’s been lost in the shuffle since returning from injury.

Never mind ‘the man’, Charlotte is ‘the woman’

Sasha Banks might be WWE’s most popular female superstar, but after Charlotte Flair’s victory in their 30-minute Iron Man – making her a four-time champ – there’s no doubt that WWE has her pegged as the true backbone of Raw’s women’s division. There was more dubious booking, with Sasha tapping to Charlotte’s Figure-8 with only two seconds left on the clock, despite being 2-1 up, and forcing the match into sudden death. Even that didn’t stop it from being another thriller from the pair – a mat-based, psychology-driven match that was markedly different to their other televised bouts. Sasha fought on gallantly, but tapped to a second Figure-8. Now it’s time for a fresh challenger to step up and face Charlotte.

Kevin Owens is desperate for Chris Jericho’s friendship

The overarching story of the night was Owens’ bid to win back Jericho’s friendship. Owens bought Jericho a Christmas scarf, tried to interfere in Y2J’s mediocre match against Seth Rollins, and then pleaded outside Jericho’s dressing room door. Owens is Universal Champion and supposedly Raw’s top name, so shouldn’t it be Jericho sucking up to him? Doesn’t it make more sense for Owens to be the dominant partner and mistreat Jericho, helping Jericho get babyface sympathy when he eventually turns? Of course, commentator Byron Saxton’s repeatedly reminded us that Owens isn’t a worthy champ and can’t get the job done without Jericho. The friendship was restored after Jericho interfered in Owens versus Roman Reigns, helping Owens retain (which Reigns and Rollins gave them a beating for post-match), but it feels like WWE is on the verge of fumbling the potential of this long-running story between Owens and Jericho.